Via Huffington Post. 

 I can't decide what is most upsetting/confounding about this situation. 

The idea that MTV is using the Holocaust to startle teens? Or that the message of these ads is unclear?

The HuffPo writer ponders the complexity of media influence, corporations, and government regulation, but I would like to get more to the point of this particular reference. Ads are here and here. 

Why is MTV trying to scare teenagers? Maybe I missed something, but I was under the impression that we're in the middle of a very exciting presidential election with a race between very distinguished and talented candidates on both sides. In what way does that signal impending systematic imprisonment and murder for "people like us"?

The MTV Choose or Lose Street Team is comprised of 51 young people (representing each state in the U.S. plus D.C.) who will cover the issues that young people care about in the 2008 election and use mobile devices to relay this political news.

 A complete list of the citizen journalists, along with links to their MTV profiles, can be found after the jump. Find out who'll be repping your state on MTV this year!

Well maybe not...but Minnesota does. The state that brought us political giants like Paul Wellstone, Walter Mondale, and Jesse "The Body" is also one of the only states in the country that allows same-day voter registration. 

An MTV video recently cited CIRCLE's (Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning & Engagement) research which included this sweet fact:

Almost 70 percent of Minnesotans ages 18 to 24 voted in 2004 presidential election, compared to 47 percent nationally. 

If every state used same-day registration, just think how overwhelming the youth vote could be. 

Another awesome thing about the Minnesota voting process? To register, you have to show an ID (and a utility bill if you've moved and your address is different on your ID). Don't have a utility bill? Your neighbor down the street can vouch for you in writing. Since young people move around so much, this seems like a pretty great way to ensure that they get to vote.

Today MySpace and MTV announced the details of the presidential candidate forums they will hold this fall. Hosted on college campuses across the country, broadcast on MTV and streamed live on MySpace, the forums seek to foster “candid, unfiltered” discussions between young voters and the major Republican and Democratic candidates.

As I write in an identical blog post at HuffPo, the blogosphere seems abuzz with optimism about the forums, the latest evidence that 2008 won’t be your mother and father’s election. “MTV and MySpace have hit up an interactive format with the potential to pioneer a whole new way of doing candidate debates/forums,” writes Michael Connery, co-founder of Future Majority, a prominent blog with well-done reporting on progressive youth politics. (Yes, that Mike Connery who came at Campus Progress back in June.)

(For some reason I thought I had already posted a blog about this year's alternative spring break. But I didn't. So here it goes...)

Students who spent their spring break fighting the death penalty in Texas were featured on MTV. Check it out! 

Texas Students Against the Death Penalty organized the event, and received an Action Grant from Campus Progress for the second year in a row. They heard from interesting and moving speakers, many of whom were directly impacted by the death penalty. They also lobbied, rallied, attended skills and issue workshops, held a press conference, and watched documentaries.

By the way, I recommend getting in touch with the Journey of Hope if you want to have an event on the death penalty.

M.I.A. has come out with another song, Bird Flu, if you haven't already heard the awesome news.  Check it out on her MySpace site now.  I've been eagerly awaiting something since Arular and Piracy Funds Terrorism - her first two albums. (If you don't already know I'm *obsessed* with this kick-ass Londoner by Sri Lanka -"educated but a refugee still am"- female artist, whose full name is Maya Arulpragasam).  

For those of you non-fans out there, she wasn't allowed into the U.S. when she was scheduled to come and work with Timberland - not sure if it was visa problems or her lyrics (which include "George Bush doin takeover" - probably one of her less controversial lines)  and politics (her father was a Tamil Tiger). 

She quickly gained a South Asian and indie cult-like following after Galang became famous (though I don't think it's her best) and her collabs with then-boyfriend Diplo (yeah, they just broke up, in late '06) have added funk.  In Bird Flu, she knocks critics, major record labels and alludes to her breakup with Diplo.

This post isn't about anything superpolitical, except to alert the masses that M.I.A. is back.  Bird Flu features some amazing dhol (Indian drum) beats, and she's posted the video on her MySpace page, via YouTube. (If you're having problems loading, like I was, try her website).  The video is a crazy mix of my favorite sights and sounds of South Asia - the nitty-gritty - and make me miss it like whoa.  And if you haven't already heard XR2 Turbo, it'll make you want to start dancing as soon as you hit play, in a weird, entranced sort of way.

Today, I got an email asking about artists that have become famous through MySpace.  And I interviewed Talib with some other CP colleagues - he referred to using the web as a way to get your music out (look out for the 5 Minutes With coming out soon!).  Do you think there will ever be a time when giant media moguls like Clear Channel, BET, and MTV are eventually shoved out by independent artists using the web as a great promotional tool?